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http://www.tradingphotos.com http://www.tradingphotos.net http://www.facebook.com/tradingphotos http://www.youtube.com/tradingphotos http://www.facebook.com/akinyelestephen Revelers enjoy picture perfect day at annual West Indian American Day Carnival Parade. They wore feathers on their heads - and almost nothing on their bodies - as revelers from more than a dozen island nations danced up Eastern Parkway on Monday for the annual West Indian American Day Carnival Parade. "People are shocked to see all the naked ladies but ... it's nothing for me," said Trinidadian native Marilyn Harbin, 56. "This is about freedom and letting loose." The dancers weren't naked, but there were plenty of sequined bikinis strutting down the Brooklyn parade route to calypso and reggae beats. "We wine and we gyrate to the pulsating music," said Barbadian-born Susan Dottin, 39, of East New York, Brooklyn, who wore a blue-and-gold feathered bikini and a headdress as she proudly waved her Barbados flag. "You're getting loose, you're feeling no hangups, nothing, no inhibitions. It's just about having a good time." The crowds squealed wildly at the passing floats and dancers as they inhaled the succulent smells of curried goat, spicy stews and other delicacies. "I'm looking forward to eating oil-down," said Teresa Barry, of Grenada, who lives in Brooklyn. The dish has breadfruit, coconut and pig tail, she added. The parade also drew politicians of every stripe who were eager to connect with a crucial voter segment ahead of next week's Democratic primaries. The parade route was flanked with campaign signs - including an enormous poster from the Transport Workers Union that pictured a giant Mayor Bloomberg stomping on the city. Pro-Bloomberg signs were also ubiquitous. The mayor strolled the route with former Secretary of State Colin Powell, a New York-born Jamaican-American who was a parade grand marshal. Powell endorsed Bloomberg on CNN's "Larry King Live" two months ago and praised him again yesterday in a brief news conference before the parade. Bloomberg's likely Democratic challenger, City Controller William Thompson, was also on hand. Thompson, who has grandparents from St. Kitts, said the endorsement reminds voters that, though Bloomberg is no longer registered to a party, he remains a Republican. "Colin Powell has been a life-long Republican. I think he's supporting the Republican candidate here in New York City," Thompson said. Although Powell prominently endorsed President Obama last year, he confirmed that he is indeed a Republican - and a Virginia resident who can't vote in New York. From http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2009/09/08/2009-09-08_revelers_enjoy_picture_perfect_day_at_annual_brooklyn_parade.html